Wired for global growth

Responding to initiative by State Council in June

Beijing ETown has started a new chapter of strong growth in its integrated circuit sector.

In response to an outline on the development of the country's integrated circuit industry released by the State Council in June, ETown stepped up efforts to improve facilities and services, as well as to fully realize the potential and productivity of the local enterprises, said Gao Yanjie, deputy director of ETown administrative committee.

As a State-level economic development area, ETown has grown from a cluster of villages into a global hub for technology innovation.

It is home to 8,890 enterprises, 120 projects invested by Fortune 500 companies and 415 State-level high-tech companies.

ETown has four major industries - electronic information, biomedicine, auto production and equipment manufacturing.

Among the four, IT accounts for 50 percent of the annual production in electronic information for the whole city of Beijing, said Gao.

The integrated circuit sector is home to the nation's first 12-inch integrated circuit production line.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, known as SMIC and the country's largest integrated circuit chip producer, is located in ETown.

Besides packaging, material and design companies that are essential to the industrial chain, there are also end-users including Nokia and LeTV.

"The integrated circuit industry in ETown has reached a very good point where there are users to help define market demand," said Gao.

In October, a national integrated circuit industry fund and a city fund for the manufacturing and equipment sectors were set up in ETown.

The national fund of over 100 billion yuan ($16 billion), mainly for investment in chip manufacturing, was started by some of the country's conglomerates.

In the future, ETown will put greater stress on manufacturing and design. Its range of chips will cover mobile communication, memory chips and others.

According to Gao, the ETown committee has been working on a plan to develop an integrated circuit industrial park that covers 16 sq km.

ETown will also step up efforts to develop a better financing system. In addition to the two major funds, it will set up some small ones and also attract a range of professional investment and financing organizations.

Services, infrastructure and the living environment will also be improved to add ETown's appeal to investors.

"ETown is China's major demonstration area for integrated circuits. Our objective is to provide the best environment for the industry and the best services for companies and organizations here to enjoy the support from the government," said Gao.

fuchao@chinadaily.com.cn